My name is Mandy and having recently used Morris Molloy to help me with my bathroom transformation I asked Kelly and Nicole if I could write a blog, to give a different perspective, really an insight into what it is like to be a client hiring an Interior designer I suppose.
As such this isn’t a conventional testimonial, it is more about taking you on the journey of my bathroom overhaul and why I would definitely recommend hiring Morris Molloy Interior Design.
The Before:
The reason for wanting the overhaul can be plainly seen in our very bland white and blue bathroom, with floor to ceiling tiles the previous owners had chosen – and which I couldn’t live with a moment longer, not to mention all those gaps! A few years into owning our house we ripped the pea bath out and put in a full shower, but to save money, put shower panels in, which I hated from the get go!
The Process:
I contacted Kelly, who came to our house for the initial meeting, with spreadsheet in hand I told her all the “must haves, would likes and don’t wants” and showed her my huge Pinterest boards and sub-sections; yep I was THAT client. I wanted a completely different look and to feel the DRAMA but just did not know where to start to make it happen!
(To jump to the end result-Kelly and Nicole met and exceeded my spreadsheet desires with all my must haves and all my would likes being included – so I have the most dramatic transformation and couldn’t be more thrilled to have such an amazing bathroom).
Kelly then went off with notes from our meeting and the magic of Interior Design started.
First concept boards were created and sent to me electronically. From the outset Kelly proved how much she had listened to me and I just knew this was going to be an epic transformation. She explained all about how the ‘flow’ would be so very important especially given our love of art by the fabulous ‘Gary Hodges’. coming up the stairs and leading into the bathroom all you see are black and white pencil drawings of animals, these cover our double height stairway and so her concept was to incorporate these into the final design.
One of the biggest changes I asked for was not to have floor to ceilings tiles, but to go with a wallpaper and my journey of learning from Kelly began.
On agreement of the concept, I then went with Kelly to the bathroom showroom and saw all the bathroom fixtures in situ, understanding the colours and dimensions she had chosen.
Throughout the project I was sent estimates, and quotations and on agreement of those, Kelly issued the invoices so I was aware of the budget at all stages.
An original wallpaper, suggested by Kelly, was amazing, but quite out there (given that she knew I wanted it to shout DRAMA!) who knew that by following her instructions to stick it up on the bathroom wall and “live with it for a few days” would be such a momentous turning point – a complete 360 for me – from loving it – to absolutely hating it – such a great piece of advice.
Yes “THAT” client again – I then went overboard and ordered several more samples of wallpaper only to call Kelly back to help me whittle them down – I almost had too much choice – but Kelly was very good at explaining how the different choices would work and how she thought some of them just would not create the look that we were hoping for.
The final two (above) were eventually chosen – which happened to be one of the originals Kelly first showed me and one I had found myself so I felt good about this & the fact that she hadn’t ruled it out.
Kelly then took me to shop for Tiles, it was here she pulled together wall tiles, shower seat tiles and floor tiles that would all come together with the selected papers to give me the dramatic look I was after. Seeing Kelly in the tile shop, with all her experience of knowing what did and didn’t work together was an education in itself and definitely something I was not confident enough to have done on my own.
Once the final colour scheme and wallpaper choice was agreed, Kelly and Nicole engaged and managed the workforce, the deliveries and the timeline. Throughout the process they kept me informed, allowed me to ask questions and they allayed any fears, they let me make informed decisions-this all showed me how well they knew their profession.
Both Kelly and Nicole were always timely in their response to emails or text messages and would come on site whenever they were needed and deal directly with any issues. I felt very confident in their project management skills and I was pleased to be kept informed the whole way through. There were as expected with such a project a couple of unforeseen issues, but these were resolved with much dedication from them both.
One of their previous blog’s talks about ‘reasons for hiring an Interior designer’ here are a few that stand out in my mind:
TO GAIN UNIQUE IDEAS THAT YOU MAY NOT HAVE THOUGHT OF YOURSELF
TO GET THAT ‘WOW’ FACTOR FINISH
ADDING VALUE TO YOUR PROPERTY
RESOURCES / ACCESS TO CONTACTS
I didn’t have to worry about getting plumbers, electricians etc. Kelly and Nicole covered everything from concept boards, bathroom specifications, getting the workforce in place, timings, ordering items, delivery – the list goes on..... I truly would recommend hiring them.
The Finished Project:
This was the first time I had hired Interior Designers and it was a great experience with an epic result.
My objective of having a dramatic bathroom with a completely different look and feel simply gives me such delight – we absolutely love it and anyone that has seen it over the festive period is stunned by how amazing it is – I wonder what you think.....
Thank you Kelly and Nicole – you rock! :-)
To view more photos of the finished bathroom click the link below to our portfolio